Keller Williams was voted #3 Place to Work in Boston!
Selling your house? Do your homework first – The Boston Globe
This article in the Sunday Globe was so refreshing. The little things (like 5,000 knicknacks and cluttered basements) make a difference! The key to getting top dollar for your house is preparation and pricing. Check out this family and their home sale story.
Selling your house? Do your homework first – The Boston Globe.
Some Good News for Veterans!
There have been some changes to the VA Loans. Fees actually went down? Find out more here – Some Good News for Veterans!.
Homeownership: Why Wait?
Rates at 4%?? Home Loan Refinancing Options
Yes – last week for one day rates were at 4%!
If you are thinking of refinancing you may want to get your paperwork in order, speak to a mortgage broker (check out my service partners for recommended brokers) and be ready to pounce if they drop again. And if they don’t – rates are low now anyway! Here is a bit more info on refinancing….
With a refinancing, you pay off an old loan on your home and take out a new one, typically at a lower mortgage interest rate. To refinance, you will generally need to have equity in your home, a good credit rating, and steady income. You can borrow a percentage of the equity to cover remodeling costs, debt consolidate, and college tuition.
You will incur all the closing costs that go along with getting a new mortgage when you refinance. So, unless you are doing extensive renovations and can get a mortgage interest rate at least two points below your current loan rate, you may want to select another financing option.
Many people flock to refinance while mortgage interest rates are low, particularly when rates are about two percentage points below their existing home loans. Other factors, like when to finance, will depend on how long you plan to hold on to your home and whether you have to pay considerable fees to refinance. How far along you are in paying off your current mortgage will also be a factor.
If you expect to sell your home relatively soon, you are not likely to recoup the costs you incurred to refinance. If you are more than halfway through paying your current mortgage, you probably will gain little by refinancing. However, if you are going to own your home for at least another five years, that is probably long enough to regain any refinancing costs and realize real savings as a result of lowering your monthly payment.
Stats on sales year over year
For all of you out there that love numbers (you know who you are!) I thought you might like a little info on how sales were in my Keller Williams office this spring compared to last.
Ok, so remember we had the end of the first time home buyer credit last spring driving buyers out to get their $8,000.
Well, this spring sales were only down 6% compared to last spring. To me that means a strong spring market.
Now that the summer has set in things are certainly quieter but homes are getting sold. The numbers below includes ALL offices.
Total Homes on the market in Beverly, Danvers, Hamilton, Wenham, Salem and Topsfield = 513
The bulk of the listings are between $250,000 and $399,000 = 184
Total Homes that have gone UNDER AGREEMENT in those towns in the last month = 69
Total Homes that have SOLD in those towns in the last month = 65
Things keep moving along…
House Prices Through 2015
I get this great Blog, Keeping Current Matters, it does a great job summarizing all the data out there. It feels good when your intuition matches what the “experts” are saying too.
Check out today’s piece on where prices are heading here – House Prices Through 2015.
3 Houses each Sold in 7 Days
So, those that know me well know I am not one to toot my own horn very frequently. But I keep hearing all the doom and gloom out there about the real estate market and it is making me NUTS! There are buyers that are taking advantage of the low prices and rates. There are sellers that are selling their houses. The market is still moving along. Does it take a little more work? Yes. Does it take a little more skill? Yes.
So, here I go… My last three listings, Anthony Road Hamilton, Central Street Middleton, and Judith Ave Lynn all had accepted offers, sometimes multiple offers, within a week. And no we didn’t give them away. They each sold on an average of 96% of our asking price.
So, don’t loose hope. Don’t fall into the doom and gloom pattern. Just hire the right agent 
ps – I have a new listing.. know anyone who might be interested? Better get them there fast!
31 Catherine Drive, West Peabody – $419,000
3 bedroom ranch with over 2100 sqft of living area!
Almost 14,000 Houses Sold Yesterday
Share ShareOne of the biggest misconceptions in today’s housing market is that homes are not selling. That is simply not true. Last month’s Existing Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that homes were selling at an
